With the escalation of the trade tensions between the U.S. and its major trading partners,... the World Bank has warned it could result in a global trade equivalent to the 2008 financial crisis.

Under the scenario outlined in the World Bank's latest global economic prospects report,... a broad-based increase in the use of import tariffs worldwide to the maximum levels permitted by the World Trade Organization,... would trigger a 9-percent decline in global trade.

They added that while it would be similar to the decline experienced during the 2008 financial crisis,... the impact could be even greater if countries went further than the WTO rules.